The young man who was killed
July 8, 1899, in a cottage on
the shore of Cuba Lake, N.Y.,
by the explosion of a dynamite
cartridge.

A TERRIBLE CALAMITY

EVERETT AUSTIN OF BELMONT BLOWN TO DEATH WITH DYNAMITE AT LAKE CUBA

The Sad Affair Causes the Deepest Sorrow Throughout the County,-
The Responsiblility for Austin's Death Not Yet Decided Upon

Never in many years has the pages of Cuba's history suffered a greater blot,
then the fatal injury to Everett AUSTIN of Belmont, at Lake Cuba last
Saturday morning by a dynamite explosion, placed there. Who the perpetrator
of the dastardly deed was as yet remains a mystery, as does also the fact as
to whether it was done as a thoughtless and cruel joke or with malicious
intent by a revengeful person with fancied wrongs. However, whatever the
motive may have been it does not alter the most regrettable fact that the
act took from life a young man dearly beloved by his family and friends and
highly respected by all who enjoyed his acquaintance. The spirit of the act
cannot alter the fact that an innocent victim has been sacrificed and that
someone is responsible for his death. Crimes like this are of too terrible
a nature to go unpunished, and the officials of Allegany county, ever
steadfast to the lines of duty, will we believe, bring to the bar of justice
to eternity a soul either by criminal carelessness or to satisfy their
vindictive minds.

The facts of this sad affair which brought to such a tragic ending the
pleasant outing of a party of Belmont young men at Lake Cuba are as follows:

The party, which consisted of Elmer AUSTIN, his cousins, Clyde and Claude
AUSTIN, and James NICHOLSON, arrived in Cuba, Saturday morning, July 1st, on
Erie train 3. On the same train was another party of Belmont people,
consisting of Mr. and Mrs. James H. ANDERSON and daughter Marguret, as
chaperons, little Edith GRISWOLD, and the following young ladies: Misses
Alice PELTON, Grace PETTIBONE, Isabel MAITONI, Ada FURMAN, Madge NICHOLSON,
Grace COLEMAN and Meriam SAMMETT. This party took up their quarters in the
MORGAN Cottage, and the young men in the HUTCHINGS & LITTLE cottage on the
South shore of the Lake. Although these two parties came on the same day,
there were in no way connected, but both being from the same place they of
course visited back and fourth more or less.

Friday last Everett AUSTIN, who was on his way to Oil City, Pa., where he
accepted a position, stopped over here to spend the night with his brother,
Elmer AUSTIN, at the Lake, intending to go on to his destination the next
day. During the evening one of the young ladies at the Morgan cottage was
taken ill, and Mr. ANDERSON secured young Austin's services to come to this
village on a wheel and get Dr. GILLETTE to attend the patient. Austin
returned about 12 o'clock and with is companions at once retired. One of
the beds in the cottage having been broken during the day, Austin and two of
his companions slept on the floor wrapped in blankets, the former laying
very near the rear door facing the road.

The first anyone knew of Austin's injury was about three o'clock Saturday
morning, when he cried out to his companions that he was a fire. Mr.
ANDERSON was at once called and Mr. Louie SMITH, who was camping in an
adjoining cottage sent to this village for a doctor. Dr. LITCHFIELD
hastened to the Lake and found that young Austin had been terribly mangled
by some powerful explosive. The right hip was entirely blown off so that
the hand could easily be put through into the bowels, a couple of inches of
the spine blown away, the wounds filled full of splinters of wood, and the
back, legs and arms covered with bruises and cuts. Dr. Litchfield realizing
the serious nature of Austin's injuries sent for Dr. ALLEN to assist him and
they did everything possible for the patients comfort. He was brought to
Cuba about o"clock and taken to the Erie station. His father, Mr. Theodore
AUSTIN, and Dr. BARNEY of Belmont, arrived on train 3 and the young man was
taken to his home in Belmont on 14, where he died of his injuries at 10
o'clock Saturday evening.

It was found that Austin's injuries were caused by the explosion of a stick
of dynamite, which had been placed with a lighted fuse on the threshold or
stuck under the door of the cottage. The force of the explosion tore out
both bottom panels of the door, shattered the sill and casing on one side
for nearly three feet, broke the outer sill and tore a hole in the floor
about two feet square. Austin was thrown about three feet by the explosion,
and his companions were evidently stunned as they heard nothing until he
cried out in his agony. As to who placed the deadly explosive it is for the
Coroner's jury and later for the officers of justice and a jury to
determine. When Coroner H. F. GILLETTE took Austin's anti-mortem statement
at the Erie station the injured man said he did not know who did the deed,
but he thought it might have been some of the Cuba boys who were occupying a
cottage adjoining, as he understood that they and the Belmont boys had been
playing jokes on each other for several days.

It seems that the Cuba boys camping at the Lake had been attentive to the
Belmont girls in the Morgan cottage, a fact evidently not displeasing to the
young ladies. Friday evening Messrs. Paul MORGAN and Gabriel BISHOP called
on the girls and took two of them out boat riding. When the boys returned
they found that the handle bars had been removed from their wheels which
they had left on the bank and the air let out of the tires. This was found
to be the work of the Belmont boys, but young Austin was not with them at
the time. The Belmont boys evidently did not like the attention the Cuba
boys were paying the young ladies, but nothing more than a friendly rivalry
seemed to be between the two parties.

Dept. Sheriff T. A. QUINN was called to the Lake early Saturday morning and
on returning to Cuba at once began trying to discover if possible who the
guilty parties were. He found that Friday afternoon, Gaylord GLENN had
purchased at Olive & Son's hardware store a half pound stick of dynamite.
On visiting the young man's home on South street he found that the explosive
had been purchased to blow out a cess pool which had got stopped up, but on
account of not being able to get anyone to do the job that afternoon, he had
placed it in a box in a hen house until it could be used the next day.
During Friday evening Gabriel BISHOP was at Glenn's house and the two boys
had occasion to visit the hen house and young Bishop saw the dynamite. Some
time afterwards he left young Glenn and in company with young Morgan went to
the Lake. Saturday morning when a search was made for the stick of dynamite
it could not be found, and at present it is not known who took it. Bishop
and Morgan left the Lake about mid-night and started for home, Morgan
walking part of the way and leaving Bishop and riding his wheel the
remainder. As Bishop's wheel was a French make, he could not use the pump
that Morgan had, and he was consequently unable to ride his wheel, the air
having been let out of the tires by the Belmont boys.

Sheriff HODNETT of Belmont arrived in Cuba on train 3. In the afternoon
Morgan and Bishop went before Justice W. D. ORMISTON and several witnesses
were examined in private. Young Morgan said that he went directly home and
his parents and others corroborated his testimony. Young Bishop refused to
talk and was allowed to go on his own recognizance until Monday morning,
when he voluntarily went before Justice Ormiston, and gave bonds for 410,000
which was furnished by his mother and Mr. H. C. MORGAN.

District Attorney F. H. CHURCH was here Monday morning and on his return to
Wellsville, empaneled the following twelve jurymen from Wellsville to
conduct an inquest over the remains of young Austin before Coroner GILLETTE
of this place at Belmont: I. H. SKELLIE, Joe LEVEY, J.A. WHETHERBY, Frand_
RICHARDS, Paul HANKS, Frank M. LEONARD, J. B. KING, Ira E. JONES, H. K. OPP,
C. B. MAKEN, J.R. FREELAND and Chas. BALDWIN.

The last three were excused, and the other nine met at the court house
Monday afternoon at 2 p.m., and were sworn in. J. B. King was elected
foreman. The jury went to the house of the Austins and viewed the remains
of the unfortunate lad.

An autopsy was held Monday afternoon, and the jury adjourned until Friday
morning on the arrival of train 3, when the examination will proceed: If
the jury finish their work at Belmont Friday, they will then come to Cuba,
Saturday and take testimony of witnesses here.

Hon. H. J. SWIFT and John C. LEGGETT of Cuba, will defend young BISHOP, and
Hon. Charles h. BROWN will appear for the AUSTIN family and Dist. Attorney
CHURCH for the people.

The funeral was held at the Presbyterian church at Belmont, Tuesday at 2:30
p.m. The deceased was about 22 years old, a machinist by trade and a young
man of more than ordinary good habits.

He had until recently been employed on the night force in the Clark Bros.
shops at Belmont. He leaves to mourn his untimely death a sister, Miss
Jennie, one brother, Elmer, a father, and mother who is confined to her room
with heart trouble. The sad manner in which young Austin met his death
makes the grief more severe. The family has the sympathy of the entire
community.

STATEMENT FROM BELMONT

A special dispatch from Belmont Tuesday to the Wellsville Reporter, makes
the following statement as told by the Belmont young people who were campers
at Cuba Lake last week:

The camping party at Lake Cuba and occupying the Morgan cottage consisted of
seven young ladies chaperoned by Mr. and Mrs. James H. ANDERSON. They
arrived at the lake on the first of July. The three AUSTIN boys and James
NICHOLSON were occupying the Little cottage about a half mile from the
Morgan cottage. On Sunday July 2nd, BISHOP, MORGAN and SWIFT drove up from
Cuba and stopped to visit with the girls and while there appropriated a boat
belonging to the Belmont boys and took several of the girls out riding. The
Belmont lads were considerably incensed at their actions and in retaliation
NICHOLSON and Clyde AUSTIN borrowed the horse and carriage which had been
hitched nearby and took some of the other girls for a ride down the road and
when they returned took the harness apart so that the Cuba callers, when
they left late in the evening had some trouble in driving home.

Everett AUSTIN was not at the lake until the week following this episode,
having come from Belmont with Mr. ANDERSON on Friday morning, July 7th.
That same evening Bishop and Morgan rode up from Cuba on their wheels and
finding the Belmont boys out fishing with Mr. ANDERSON, in a spirit of
mischief they again borrowed the boat belonging to the Belmont boys and took
Ada FURMAN and Grace PETTIBONE out on the lake. When the boys returned from
fishing they discovered the four out in the boat and several uncomplimentary
remark were passed including a demand to immediately return the boat, and it
was sometime afterward before the Cuba fellows would come in. During the
evening the Belmont boys in a spirit of revenge dismantled the two bicycles
belonging to Morgan and Bishop, letting the air out of the tires and hiding
the saddles and handle bars and it was about eleven o'clock before they
could get their wheels so they could start for Cuba. Bishop's Wheel was an
imported one and he was unable to blow up the tires with the pump loaned by
Mr. ANDERSON, he was very angry and with the prospect of walking back home
two miles, he threatened all kinds of revenge on the Belmont boys.

In the meantime the Belmont boys had returned to their cabin up the lake
with the exception of Everett AUSTIN, who at no time had been identified in
any of the trouble. Owing to the sudden illness of Miss Isabelle MATONI, he
had taken Mr. ANDERSON's wheel and ridden to Cuba for a doctor, and when he
returned about half past eleven he walked down to the Little cottage and
finding the door locked and the boys asleep, climbed in a window, not
wishing to disturb his comrades and quietly slipped into bed. One of the
beds being broken down two of the boys had dragged the mattress out on the
floor, placing it near the back door of the cottage and Everett Austin
rolled into bed with the two boys on the floor, his head resting on the
mattress and his hips against the back door and here he was doomed to
receive the terrible injuries which resulted in his death.